Cons: game, you can never keep very many together, they don't lay an abundance of eggs

if you noticed that i used the word 'game' for pro and con, i have my reasons. the asil or aseel was imported from the middle east and india because their gameness was used for fighting and grading into american and english games. cockfighting is illegal now and there is not much demand for game chickens that don't lay very many eggs. that being said they are a worthy breed to keep and more breeders should keep a pair or so on their place. i am using them for a grading project with my cubalayas and also using thai gamefowl.

I purchased two Tuzo type Aseel hens last fall. They have integrated well with our cubalayas. We love watching their athletic antics. They are strong fliers and in winter we make a game of hanging a suet block or other treat in a new tree, just to watch them figure out how to get it. Ours are laying better than expected, and I look forward to letting them brood. In Kentucky their seemingly thin, tight feathering has been no problem. I personally know of one amazing survival story of this breed- a hen was stolen, survived wild in the forest and returned to her owners nearly a year later.

I am new to these and only have a pair at the moment. But they are very tame, let me pick them up and eat out of my hand with no "training". Very broody, among the best, better than silkies. Not at all people aggressive, but should idealy be kept in pairs. Have been integrated into non-gamefowl flocks when young and preferably free-ranging, no other cocks. Intelligent. And good rangers. Poor layers. and slow to mature.

If you raise chickens for the joy of it and for reasons other than just eggs and meat than these are great.

Ive had asils for a long time and i love the chickens, the roosters are docile if held frequently and will wardoff predators but will fight other roosters to the death. The hens you cant beat a being great mothers and are a great adition top a gamefarm or regular coop.☺

I've only ever gotten Aseel hens. I've currently got one, but had two a while back. These hens are extremely tough, so I don't have to worry so much about things getting into the coop, but that also means that I need to be careful.

My current Aseel hen goes broody fairly frequently, and she doesn't take kindly to interference. I have to catch her off the nest to see how the eggs are doing, because the last time I messed with her, she managed to draw blood (not much, but some). She is a determined broody, and doesn't switch nests like all my other birds, but I haven't gotten chicks out of her yet, so I don't know how she does with chicks (she's gone broody twice so far, and last time didn't go very well, but it was probably my fault.)

Aseels are extremely intelligent, in my experience, as my hen knows how to do some damage when she feels she needs to, and will twist her head away when she pecks, trying to tear the skin. She has also managed to peck my hand when I tried to distract her with a piece of straw (I wanted to candle her eggs). I waved the straw in front of her head, and she attacked the hand holding the straw instead. I see her intelligence as a mixed blessing. On the one hand, I can't really mess with her, but on the other hand, she should be able to keep some of my other birds safe, and, hopefully, her chicks.

I've always had a mixed relationship with my Aseels, as I love their broody/protective nature, but I wish they'd be a bit more sociable...

The Aseel/Asil originated in India. Cornish were created by breeding Asils and Old English Games. Rulers of India kept these for cockfighting and for their beauty. The Asil is the strongest gamebird in the world. Males cannot be kept with other males because they will fight until death. Hens can sometimes be kept together but have to be watched closely in case of fighting.

Asils are very muscular birds. Their feathers are hard, short and the feathers also split at the breastbone. They were bred to not have wattles, so when cockfighting they wouldn't have to worry about them getting infected. Their egg laying is seasonal and not frequent which is why they are somewhat rare. In my experience, my rooster and hen do not mind getting picked up. They are never aggressive towards humans, they even eat out of my hand. They can be aggressive toward other chickens. My hen cannot get along with my other hens and picks on them until they bleed. I would suggest that they are kept together in pairs, possibly a trio. The Asil hens make really good mothers. My rooster seems to like chicks. BYC member,"prariechiken", is the owner of the pair and the hen and her chicks